Method and system for the directed control of robotic assets

ABSTRACT

Static multi-registration performs a delayed convoy mission from a recorded path. The data recorded for delayed convoy includes both positions traversed by the vehicle and the obstacles sensed as it drove along the path and generates a new path file in this format that is used by the vehicle to follow the desired route. The data is processed before it is passed to the vehicle to be followed. Paths are processed to determine where they cross each other. These intersection points and the path data are used to create an interconnected graph of path segments. A multi-registration planner uses that information on the length and directionality of the path segments to compute the best route between two intersections. The route generated by the planner guides the merging of position and obstacle data from several recorded paths into a single record used by the vehicle to follow the desired route.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/676475, entitled “Method and system for the directed control of robotic assets”, filed on 27 Jul. 2012. The benefit under 35 USC §119(e) of the United States provisional application is hereby claimed, and the aforementioned application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

Not Applicable

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a method and system for the directed control of robotic assets. More specifically, the present invention relates to precision vehicle navigation with a GPS-based system augmented with a high-resolution relative navigation system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In an unconstrained environment, the precise and repeatable determination of the vehicle's position is a non-trivial problem. The typical solution to determining global vehicle position is to use GPS. Without differential corrections GPS has position errors in the tens of meters. Where WAAS differential corrections are available, GPS position error can be reduced to a few meters. To get down to sub-meter accuracy, the use of differential and phase-differential GPS corrections are necessary. One problem with differential GPS is its general availability. It is necessary to have a differential base station located in the area of operation, which can be impractical or impossible at times.

Other factors that degrade the suitability of GPS for precision vehicle-position sensing are RF multi-path and occlusion issues. GPS relies on RF signals from satellites orbiting the earth. The position of the GPS receiver is determined by very precise measurements of the distance between the visible satellites and the receiver. In obstructed areas such as urban environments and heavily wooded areas the signals from the satellites can be blocked from sight. An accurate position cannot be computed unless enough satellites can be seen by the receiver.

The accuracy of the position solution can also be compromised if the signals from the satellites reach the receiver by an indirect route, for example by bouncing off of buildings. In this case the distances to the satellites will be incorrect, and the resulting position calculated from these measurements will be in error. Another complicating factor is vehicle speed. Typically GPS units provide better results when they are stationary. However, even with its limitations, GPS is the best method for determining global vehicle position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The current implementation of static multi-registration makes use of the existing functionality to perform a delayed convoy mission from a recorded path. The data recorded for delayed convoy includes both positions traversed by the vehicle and the obstacles sensed as it drove along the path. The static multi-registration code generates a new path file in this format that is used by the vehicle to follow the desired route. The end goal is to have a system that can database information about paths traversed by any number of vehicles and make it available automatically to improve navigation in areas that have been previously visited by the robots.

The data from a number of paths is processed in a number of steps before it is passed to the vehicle to be followed. First the paths are processed to determine where they cross each other. These intersection points and the path data are used to create an interconnected graph of path segments. The graph is passed to a multi-registration planner that uses information on the length and directionality of the path segments to compute the best route between two intersections. The route generated by the planner is then used to guide the merging of position and obstacle data from several recorded paths into a single record that can be used by the vehicle to follow the desired route.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the present invention and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention.

FIG. 1 a shows a vector representation of a vehicle's relative and global position solutions;

FIG. 1 b shows the relative drift between two vehicles;

FIG. 2 shows the real-time sharing of the mapette list and the follower's master obstacle map;

FIG. 3 illustrates multiple intersecting paths and detected intersection points; and

FIG. 4 shows the interaction of the various steps in the static multi-registration process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For precision vehicle navigation a GPS-based system needs to be augmented with a high-resolution relative navigation system. For simplicity this can be referred to as an inertial navigation system (INS) though non-inertial sensors, such as wheel motion sensors, may be used in generating the navigation solution. GPS update rates are typically too slow to provide dynamic position information for a moving vehicle. An INS can be used to interpolate vehicle position between GPS updates. INS position information is typically available at a much higher rate and at a much finer position resolution than that of a GPS receiver. The drawback of INS position solutions is that they tend to drift with time and/or distance traveled. The more expensive the sensors used, the less drift in the system, but it cannot be completely eliminated. GPS is very stable with respect to time and distance, with the addition of a significant local noise component. INS has a very small local noise component, but drifts over large distances or time intervals. Since GPS and INS based navigation solutions have complimentary error characteristics, hybrid systems can provide very good vehicle navigation solutions. Hybrid INS/GPS vehicle navigation systems are available commercially from a number of vendors, and their price varies with their level of precision.

The importance of the relative navigation solution provided by an INS is often overlooked, even by the makers of high quality vehicle navigation systems. For the purposes of sensor fusion, a good relative position solution is more important than a good global position solution. It is more to know precisely where you are relative to previous sensor measurements than to know where you are globally. In a real time navigation system, the best estimate of the vehicle's global position will change relative to the vehicle's actual position. Just because the best estimate moves does not mean that the vehicle moved, or that the world moved relative to the vehicle.

The pure relative INS solution is generally better for fusing multiple sensor images. The use of global position solutions has to be done with this in mind. Sensor based registration tracks the relative INS drift by tracking observed features (obstacles), thereby bridging the gap between relative and global position solutions. Figure la shows a vector representation of a vehicle's relative and global position solutions. A vehicle's true position at any given point in time can be represented as a GPS solution 101 plus noise (gps0) 102 or a relative INS solution 103 plus a relative offset (re10) 104. Drift 105 is the error accumulated by the INS. Relative drift 105 between two vehicles, shown in FIG. 1 b, can then be defined as the offset between the leader and follower INS navigation solutions 106 and 107. Sensor-based registration calculates and corrects for this relative drift.

Registration based correction works best when there are many visible features (obstacles) to work with. Map registration helps particularly in high-speed following. The quality of the registration-based corrections can be seriously degraded if there are few or no features to match.

A figure of merit for the quality of the registration value can be used by the system to determine how good the registration is. Fortunately, the places where registration typically performs poorly are the areas where GPS does well (open fields), and registration does well when GPS has problems (in heavily wooded areas and among buildings).

The first part of our invention applies to leader-follower applications, where a following vehicle wishes to precisely follow the path of a lead vehicle. Sensor-based registration is used to correct errors between the leader's and follower's path. This registration process consists of two key modules: a registration obstacle server (ROS) to collect maps 201 of features seen by the lead vehicle, and a registration module (REG) on the following vehicle that uses map registration to generate position corrections. The ROS module merges features collected from the sensors and places them in a list in the order in which they will be encountered by the following vehicle. The map features are sent in compressed form, referred to as mapettes 202 in our implementation, to the following vehicle on demand. On the following vehicle the map 203 is reconstructed by the REG module as the follower drives through the same area as the leader. The follower generates its own feature map 204 based on sensor readings. The follower's map is then compared to the reconstructed map from the leader, and an optimal transformation to align the two maps is computed. This process is referred to as ‘registering’ the maps. This transformation is referred to as the ‘drift’ between the leader and follower coordinate systems.

This drift value is used to transform path points in the leader's relative coordinate frame into the follower's coordinates. The vehicle is then steered to achieve this transformed path. The path and feature data can be used to trace the path of the leader immediately, or the data can be recorded and used to follow the path days or months later.

An extended Kalman filter is used compute a smoothed drift value based on the registration results and the motion of the vehicle detected by the INS. The filtered drift is used in combination with the current INS navigation solution to make an initial estimate of the alignment of the feature maps. This is used to limit the parameter space that needs to be searched in order to find the proper registration between the leader and follower feature maps. Multi-registration extends the functionality of delayed leader-follower registration to encompass a network of interconnected vehicle paths 300, as shown in FIG. 3. Path and feature data are recorded by an exploring vehicle. This data is used by other vehicles later to guide themselves along the recorded paths. Multi-registration allows new composite paths to be generated by merging data from a number of recorded paths. The multi-registration process can be performed either statically or dynamically. In static multi-registration, the planning and feature map construction is done off-line. A static data file containing path and registration feature information generated from segments of the recorded data, and is then sent to the vehicle to be followed in the fashion described for the leader-follower configuration. In dynamic multi-registration the generation of the path is done in real-time on the vehicle. The path planner is run cyclically to respond to changing information and conditions.

Multi-registration makes use of a road network that is generated from data collected by the exploring vehicle, or vehicles. First the paths are processed to determine where they cross each other in an intersection-processing step 401. These intersection points and the path data are used to create an interconnected graph of path segments 403. The graph is passed to a multi-registration planner 404 that uses information on the length and directionality of the path segments to compute the best route. The route generated by the planner 405 is then used to guide the merging of the vehicle paths and feature data 406 from several recorded path. Path to path registration 407 can be done on or off line to compute the transformation 408 needed to map a new segment's path and feature data into the coordinate system of the preceding segment.

Furthermore, other areas of art may benefit from this method and adjustments to the design are anticipated. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. 

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A method for the directed control of robotic assets comprising the steps of: providing a registration obstacle server; collecting maps in the registration obstacle server from a first asset; saving maps in the registration obstacle server; creating a mapette in the registration obstacle server sending maps from a first asset to one or more additional assets; providing a second obstacle registration module to perform actual registration;
 2. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 1, wherein the registration obstacle server creates mapettes by taking the difference between a first map and a second obstacle and stores these mapettes in a list.
 3. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 2, wherein the obstacle registration module performs a registration operation between obstacle maps generated by a first asset and the current obstacle map from a subsequent asset; and the obstacle registration module generates an offset to align a subsequent asset's navigation solution with the first asset's navigation solution at that point of the path.
 4. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 3, wherein the mapette process consists of the following steps: creating mapettes only when an asset moves a certain minimum distance; upon request from the follower, sending a portion of the mapette list from a first asset to a subsequent asset; requesting mapettes from a first asset by subsequent assets via the registration obstacle server; and stringing together mapettes provided by the first asset to create a master obstacle map.
 5. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 4, wherein subsequent assets are always assumed to be at the center of this map and the map is scrolled as the subsequent asset moves; the mapette list is shared in real time with the subsequent asset's master obstacle map; upon request from the subsequent asset, a portion of the mapette list from the first asset is sent to the subsequent asset and placed in the subsequent asset's master obstacle map.
 6. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 5, wherein data recorded includes both positions traversed by a first asset and the obstacles sensed as it drove along a path; and a static multi-registration code generates a new path file used by a subsequent asset to follow a desired route.
 7. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 6, further comprising a database consisting of information about paths traversed by any number of assets available to improve navigation in areas that have been previously visited by assets.
 8. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 6, wherein the data from a number of paths from mapette files are processed in a number of steps before it is passed to subsequent assets comprising the following steps: processing a plurality of path data to determine where paths cross each other in intersection processing; creating an interconnected graph of path segments using intersection points and the path data; transferring the interconnected graph of path segments to a multi-registration planner; processing the interconnected graph of path segments based on the length and directionality of the path segments to compute the best route between two intersections; and using the best route generated by the planner to guide the merging of position and obstacle data from several recorded paths, which contain offsetting data, into a single record that can be used by the asset to follow the desired route.
 9. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 8, further comprising intersection wherein identification of locations where the paths come together and diverge are determined; registration is used to refine the relative location of the paths near the intersection point; the recorded paths are divided into individual path segments at the intersection points; a logical graph structure is created where the intersection points form the nodes of the graph, and the path segments form the edges connecting the nodes; once the collection of path segments have been organized into the graph structure, the planner is called; the start and end point of the search are specified at intersections of the graph; and the route from the start point is computed to minimize the distance traveled.
 10. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 9, further comprising intersection wherein the planner biases the search to prefer connections through intersections that keep the vehicle on the same original path; and the planner biases the search to prefer edges between intersections that were recorded in the direction of travel.
 11. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 9, further comprising intersection wherein, after the route has been generated, a new path file is generated using portions of the data from the original path files; map data is generated and recorded in the asset's relative coordinate, so the path in relative coordinates is primarily used for path following using registration; new relative coordinates are computed for the path points; and an offset to convert from the edge relative coordinates to the new relative coordinates is computed using offsets generated from registering the map data at the intersections.
 12. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 11, further comprising intersection wherein map data is merged at the intersections taking the offsets calculated by registration into account; an estimate of the direction of motion entering and leaving the intersection is computed; a line dividing the map into two halves is computed that bisects the angle between the edges; the data is written incrementally into a scrolling map, and then read out in pieces to form new mapettes for the combined path.
 13. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 12, wherein processing a plurality of path data is done in real time by the asset; and the multi-registration planner is run cyclically based on the current location of the asset.
 14. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 13, wherein a dynamic multi-registration process uses the ‘traffic’ planner to compute the best path from the present location of an asset to a series of intermediate goals; the multi-registration planner receives a graph in the form of a road network description form generated from all previously recorded paths; intersection points are computed where the recorded paths come together and separate; the registration algorithm is used off-line to compute the relative position correction needed to align the path coordinates at the intersections; the offsets are used to create a constant coordinate system for path planning; the position corrections at the end points of the path segments are propagated linearly along the length of the segments; and the result is a coordinate system where the path position data and obstacle position data is consistent at all the graph intersections; intersections are recomputed in the new map coordinate system; the intersections points are used to build a graph describing the connections between the various path segments; at each intersection, the path segments are followed until they get close to the intersection point; and a short connector path is computed by a high maneuverability planner that smoothly transitions from one path segment to the other.
 15. The method for the directed control of robotic assets of claim 14, wherein the planner makes use of the paths recorded in the road network description form to compute the most efficient path from place to place; data identifying the path segments is recorded in the road network description form and passed to the path following module by the traffic planner; the path following module monitors which path segment is currently being traversed and pass that information the registration module; when an asset starts to traverse a connector, the path following module instructs the registration module to start loading in the obstacle data associated with the path segment where the connector terminates; and obstacles associated with the first segment are removed from the registration obstacle map and replaced by the obstacles associated with the new path segment. 